Narrow Flake Composite Fiber Material Compression Molding

ABSTRACT

Methods provide for creating a three-dimensional random fiber orientation in a composite component. According to embodiments described herein, narrow flakes are created from a unidirectional composite fiber tape and poured into a reservoir of a mold, creating a three-dimensional random fiber orientation of the narrow flakes within the reservoir. At least a majority of the narrow flakes have an aspect ratio of length to width of at least 6:1. The narrow flakes are heated and compressed to fill the mold and create the composite component. The three-dimensional random fiber orientation of the narrow flakes within the reservoir is maintained as the narrow flakes are pushed through the mold, creating consistent, uniform strength characteristics throughout the resulting composite component.

BACKGROUND

Composite components are often manufactured using thermoset orthermoplastic materials, which may be formed into tapes or sheets havingcarbon fibers that are conventionally arranged in a unidirectionalconfiguration. The resulting unidirectional tape may be cut into smallerpieces, or flakes, which are typically square or approximately square.These flakes are placed in a mold reservoir where heat and pressure areapplied to force the flakes into all cavities of the mold. Once cured,the resulting component is removed from the mold.

This conventional compression molding technique may create anundesirable variance in the strength of resulting components accordingto the arrangement of the flakes as they are pushed throughout the mold.As the flakes are deposited in the mold reservoir, they tend to stack upsuch that they lay on top of one another with the large flat sides ofthe flakes abutting one another, similar to the manner in which bookswould stack on top of one another if tossed into a pile on a flatsurface. This common stacking phenomenon may be referred to as laminarstacking. As the laminar stacks of flakes are pushed throughout themold, the orientation of the stacks may change, but the flakesultimately remain substantially stacked. When subjected to tensionalloads in the through-thickness direction (or z-direction if the flakesare oriented in an x-y plane), the flakes are inclined to separate ordelaminate since there are relatively no fibers oriented in thethrough-thickness direction. The result of this laminar stackingorientation being pushed through the component mold is a potentiallyweak area in the final component.

It is with respect to these considerations and others that thedisclosure made herein is presented.

SUMMARY

It should be appreciated that this Summary is provided to introduce aselection of concepts in a simplified form that are further describedbelow in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to beused to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

Methods provide for creating a three-dimensional random fiberorientation in a composite component. According to one aspect of thedisclosure provided herein, a method includes pouring narrow flakes of aunidirectional composite fiber tape into a mold reservoir. At least amajority of the narrow flakes have an aspect ratio of 6:1 or higher. Thenarrow flakes within the reservoir are heated and compressed to push thenarrow flakes throughout the mold and create the desired compositecomponent.

According to another aspect, a method of creating a three-dimensionalrandom fiber orientation in a composite component includes transforminga unidirectional thermoplastic tape into a number of narrow flakes. Atleast a majority of the narrow flakes have an aspect ratio of at least6:1. The narrow flakes are poured into a reservoir of a mold so that anorientation of the narrow flakes includes a three-dimensional randomfiber orientation. The narrow flakes within the reservoir are heated andcompressed to fill the mold and create the composite component havingthe three-dimensional random fiber orientation.

According to yet another aspect, a method for creating athree-dimensional random fiber orientation in a composite component mayinclude slitting a unidirectional thermoplastic tape into a number ofnarrow tape ribbons. The narrow tape ribbons are cut to create a numberof narrow flakes having an aspect ratio of at least 6:1. The narrowflakes are poured into a reservoir of a mold, heated, and compressed tofill the mold and create the composite component.

The features, functions, and advantages that have been discussed can beachieved independently in various embodiments of the present disclosureor may be combined in yet other embodiments, further details of whichcan be seen with reference to the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a top view of an example of a conventional composite fibertape;

FIG. 1B is a top view of an example of a conventional flake cut from acomposite fiber tape;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional compression moldingsystem showing the laminar stacking of conventional flakes within areservoir of a mold;

FIG. 3 is a top view of a conventional flake transformation into anumber of narrow flakes according to various embodiments presentedherein;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a compression molding system showingthe three-dimensional random fiber orientation of narrow flakes within areservoir of a mold according to various embodiments presented herein;

FIG. 5 is a front view of a narrow flake creation mechanism thatincludes a blending device having one or more chopping blades accordingto one embodiment presented herein;

FIG. 6 is a front view of a narrow flake creation mechanism thatincludes a device and/or process for slitting and cutting compositefiber tape or conventional flakes into narrow flakes according to oneembodiment presented herein;

FIG. 7 is a process flow diagram illustrating a method for creating athree-dimensional random fiber orientation in a composite componentaccording to various embodiments presented herein;

FIG. 8 is a process flow diagram illustrating a method for transformingcomposite fiber tape into narrow flakes according to various embodimentspresented herein; and

FIG. 9 is a process flow diagram illustrating an alternative method fortransforming composite fiber tape into narrow flakes according tovarious embodiments presented herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description is directed to methods for creating athree-dimensional random fiber orientation in a composite component. Asdiscussed briefly above, conventional composite components made usingcompression molding techniques often include undesirable areas oflaminar stacking of the composite flakes that have been pushed throughthe mold. The resulting component may include weak areas correspondingto areas within the mold with substantial laminar stacking, particularlywhen those areas are subjected to shear or tension forces during use ofthe composite component.

Utilizing the concepts described herein, composite components may bemanufactured in a manner that results in a consistent, three-dimensionalrandom fiber orientation of composite fibers throughout the component.In doing so, the strength of the composite components may be increased,and most importantly, the strength of the components may be consistentand predictable throughout the component and all other componentsmanufactured using the same technique and fibers. As will be describedin detail below, the three-dimensional randomness may be achievedutilizing composite fiber materials that are configured as narrow flakeshaving an aspect ratio of at least 6:1. These relatively narrow flakesare not biased towards laminar stacking when poured into a moldreservoir for compression molding. The random flake orientation ismaintained throughout the mold as the narrow flakes are compressed andpushed through the mold.

In the following detailed description, references are made to theaccompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and which are shown byway of illustration, specific embodiments, or examples. Referring now tothe drawings, in which like numerals represent like elements through theseveral figures, the creation of three-dimensional random fiberorientation in composite components will be described. Turning to FIG.1A, a top view of a composite fiber tape 102 is shown. As previouslymentioned, thermoplastic materials may be formed into a composite fibertape 102 that may be composed of carbon fibers that are arranged in aunidirectional configuration or orientation. The composite fiber tape102 may be cut into flakes 104, as indicated by the broken lines. Itshould be appreciated that the composite fiber tape 102 shown in FIG. 1Adepicts a limited number of flakes 104 for illustrative purposes only.Conventionally, the flakes 104 may be cut into approximate squares, orflakes having a length to width aspect ratio of approximately 1:1. Ifnot 1:1, the aspect ratio of the flakes 104 is often less than 2:1 orany other “low aspect ratio” value, producing a substantially wide flakerelative to the length of the flake.

A close up view of a flake 104 is shown in FIG. 1B to illustrate theunidirectional configuration of the fibers 106. The fibers 106 andassociated resin may include suitable thermoplastic materials, includingbut not limited to PEKK, PEI, PEEK, PPE and PPS. As seen in the figure,the fibers 106 may be oriented substantially parallel to one another,creating the unidirectional configuration of the composite fiber tape102 and of the corresponding flakes 104.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of a conventional compressionmolding system 200 utilizing a number of flakes 104 of the compositefiber tape 102. The conventional compression molding system 200 includesa mold 202 with any number of component cavities 204. The componentcavities 204 are shaped and sized according to the desired component tobe created with the mold 202. The mold 202 may include any number ofpassageways and turns feeding the various component cavities 204. A ram208 is used to press the flakes 104 throughout the passageways to fillthe component cavities 204 while applying heat to melt the compositematerial.

Before the compression, a reservoir 206 of the mold 202 is filled with aquantity of flakes 104 approximately equivalent to the mass of theresulting component to be created during the compression moldingprocess. As described above and seen in FIG. 2, a problem withconventional techniques lies in the laminar stacking 210 phenomena thatis prevalent with flakes 104 having a conventional low aspect ratiodimensional characteristic. As the flakes 104 are poured or otherwiseplaced into the reservoir 206, the flakes 104 tend to rest relativelyflat on top of one another to create the laminar stacking 210. Thelaminar stacking 210 of the flakes 104 results in a substantiallytwo-dimensional orientation of flakes 104 and corresponding fibers 106.

When heat and pressure are applied to the flakes 104, the laminarstacking 210 configuration of the flakes 104 may be pushed throughoutthe component cavities 204 of the mold 202. This heat and compressionprocess may bend or alter the planar orientation or the flakes 104 orstacks of flakes 104 as the flakes 104 are pressed around corners of thepassageways, however, the laminar stacking 210 may continue to exist inone or more areas of the mold 202. The laminar stacking 210 within thecomponent cavities 204 may result in potential weak areas 212 of thecomponent if subjected to shear or tension forces that act to pull theflakes apart or otherwise delaminate the stacks of flakes. It shouldagain be noted that FIG. 2 has been significantly simplified toillustrate an example of the laminar stacking 210 of the flakes 104 andresulting weak area 212.

Turning to FIG. 3, one embodiment of the present disclosure will bedescribed. To prevent the laminar stacking 210 of the flakes 104, theconcepts described herein transform the flakes 104 or the correspondingcomposite fiber tape 102 into narrow flakes 304 via a narrow flakecreation mechanism 302. Embodiments of the narrow flake creationmechanism 302 will be described below with respect to FIG. 6. The narrowflakes 304 have a length 306 and a width 308 that provides a desiredaspect ratio 310 that will ultimately provide the three-dimensionalrandom fiber orientation of the narrow flakes 304 when poured into areservoir 206 of a mold 202 as described in greater detail below. Thedesired aspect ratio 310 may be substantially greater than the aspectratio associated with conventional flakes 104. As described above,conventional aspect ratios may be approximately 1:1 to 4:1. According tovarious embodiments, the desired aspect ratio may be 6:1 or greater. Inother words, according to one embodiment, the length 306 of a narrowflake 304 may be at least six times the width 308 of the narrow flake304. According to one embodiment, a desired aspect ratio 310 isapproximately 8:1. For example, the narrow flakes 304 may have ½ inchlengths 306 and 1/16^(th) inch widths 308, which would give the narrowflakes 304 an aspect ratio of 8:1.

Referring to FIG. 4, when narrow flakes 304 are poured into thereservoir 206 of a mold 202, the desired aspect ratio 310 allows thenarrow flakes 304 to substantially rest in a three-dimensional randomfiber orientation. In this three-dimensional random fiber orientation,the fibers 106 within each narrow flake 304, which are substantiallyunidirectional, are not substantially parallel with the fibers 106within a majority of adjacent narrow flakes 304. In other words, thenarrow flakes 304 extend in all directions, through all planes, ratherthan the laminar stacking 210 that is prevalent with conventional flakes104. In doing so, the three-dimensional random fiber orientation of thenarrow flakes 304 is substantially maintained as the narrow flakes 304are heated and pushed throughout the passageways of the mold 202 andinto the component cavities 204.

The resulting component has isotropic strength characteristics in thatthe component does not have any resulting weak areas 212 in specificdirections due to laminar stacking 210. In addition, the resultingcomponent may experience an increase in strength characteristics ascompared to an identical component that is compression molded using thesame mold 202 and flakes 104 described above. The reason lies in thatthe narrow flakes 304 position fibers 106 in all directions consistentlythroughout the component. Interlacing the fibers 106 in three dimensionsprior to applying heat and pressure to push the narrow flakes 304throughout the mold 202 ensures a random fiber orientation distributionthroughout the mold 202 and resulting component after cooling.

FIG. 5 shows one embodiment in which the narrow flake creation mechanismincludes a blending device 502 having one or more chopping blades 504.According to this embodiment, the composite fiber tape 102 may be cutinto flakes 104 as described above. The flakes 104 are then placed in ablending device 502, such as an industrial blender or other device inwhich one or more chopping blades 504 strike the flakes 104. Uponcontact with the flakes 104, the force of the impact from the choppingblades 504 fractures the flakes 104 along an axis parallel to the fibers106, which creates multiple flakes 104 having the same length 306, butshorter width 308 than the original flakes 104. The fracturing of theflakes 104 continues until the majority of the flakes 104 have asufficiently small width 308 corresponding to the desired aspect ratio310, creating the narrow flakes 304.

Utilizing this narrow flake creation mechanism 302 creates narrow flakes304 that may not be entirely uniform. As an example, while a majority ofthe narrow flakes 304 have an aspect ratio of 8:1, other narrow flakesmay have aspect ratios between 6:1 to 10:1. This non-uniformity ofnarrow flakes may or may not be desirable depending on the particularapplication. As long as the aspect ratio 310 of approximately 75% of thenarrow flakes 304 is approximately 6:1 or higher, the narrow flakes 304will fill the reservoir 206 of the mold 202 in a three-dimensionalrandom fiber orientation. According to one embodiment, at least 75% ofthe narrow flakes within the resulting component have an aspect ratio ofat least 6:1, resulting in a substantially three-dimensional randomfiber orientation throughout the component.

According to an alternative embodiment depicted in FIG. 6, the narrowflake creation mechanism 302 includes a device and/or process forslitting and cutting the composite fiber tape 102 or the flakes 104 intothe narrow flakes 304. According to one embodiment, the composite fibertape 102 may be slit into narrow tape ribbons 602 having the desiredwidth 308 of the narrow flakes 304. After slitting the composite fibertape 102, the narrow tape ribbons 602 are cut or chopped into thedesired length 306 as indicated by the broken lines, resulting in thecreation of the narrow flakes 304.

It should be appreciated that any appropriate equipment for slitting andcutting the thermoplastic or other composite fiber material may beutilized. Moreover, the composite fiber tape 102 may be cut at thedesired lengths corresponding to the length 306 of the narrow flakes 304prior to slitting the tape into the desired widths 308 to create thenarrow flakes 304. The composite fiber tape 102 may be alternativelystamped to simultaneously make lengthwise and widthwise cuts to createthe narrow flakes 304. According to an alternative embodiment, theflakes 104 having a relatively low aspect ratio may be created from thecomposite fiber tape 102 using conventional techniques. The flakes 104may then be slit at appropriate locations to create the narrow flakes304 having an aspect ratio of approximately 6:1 or higher. Althoughmultiple embodiments of the narrow flake creation mechanism 302 havebeen described, it should be understood that the narrow flake creationmechanism 302 may include any machine or process that is operative toslit, chop, cut, or otherwise transform a composite fiber tape 102and/or corresponding flakes 104 into narrow flakes 304 having thedesired aspect ratio 310.

One potential advantage to slitting and cutting the composite fiber tape102 into the narrow flakes 304 rather than fracturing the flakes 104into narrow flakes 304 is that all or any portion of the narrow flakes304 may be cut into the precise lengths 306 and widths 308 desired. Thiscontrol over the exact characteristics of the narrow flakes 304 to beincluded within the composite component allows for the consistentcreation of uniform components having the desired strength properties.According to one embodiment utilizing this slitting and cutting process,substantially all of the narrow flakes within the resulting componenthave an aspect ratio of at least 6:1, resulting in a substantiallythree-dimensional random fiber orientation throughout the component.

Depending on the characteristics of the component being made, it may beadvantageous to utilize a subset of narrow flakes 304 having specificlengths 306, widths 308, and corresponding aspect ratios 310 in onelocation of the mold, while utilizing a second subset of narrow flakes304 having lengths 306, widths 308, and corresponding aspect ratios 310that are different from the first subset. In other words, according tovarious embodiments, the composite fiber tape 102 may be cut into anumber of narrow tape ribbons 602, and then further cut into a number ofnarrow flakes 304 all having equivalent dimensional attributes orvarying dimensional attributes.

It should be appreciated that the process and components describedherein, while described with respect to thermoplastic materials, mayconceivably be applicable to other materials having characteristics thatwould allow for the creation of the narrow flakes 304 and for the flowof the three-dimensional random fiber orientation throughout the mold202 upon application of heat and compression to the three-dimensionallyoriented narrow flakes 304 within the reservoir 206. It should also benoted that the embodiments described herein may not be applicable tothermoset and materials in which the characteristics of the materialprovide for a cross-linking to occur with the resin of the flakes atabove-freezing temperatures, providing a resulting viscosity and flakeproperties that prevent a three-dimensional random fiber orientation tobe pushed throughout all component cavities 204 of a complex mold duringheating. In contrast, with thermoplastic and similar materials,production costs are minimized since the creation of the narrow flakes304 may occur at room temperature or above freezing, i.e., at or above50 degrees F. The component creation process may then be performed usingmechanical pressure and heat, after which the resulting component may beready for use or further processing after cooling.

Turning now to FIG. 7, an illustrative routine 700 for creating athree-dimensional random fiber orientation in a composite component willnow be described in detail. It should be appreciated that more or feweroperations may be performed than shown in the figures and describedherein. These operations may also be performed in a different order thanthose described herein.

The routine 700 begins at operation 702, where the composite fiber tape102 is transformed into narrow flakes 304. Two different embodiments forcreating the narrow flakes 304 from the composite fiber tape 102 will bedescribed below with respect to FIGS. 8 and 9. The narrow flakes 304 maybe created with aspect ratios 310 of at least 6:1. From operation 702,the routine 700 continues to operation 704, where the narrow flakes 304are poured into the reservoir 206 of the mold 202. Because the narrowflakes 304 have the desired aspect ratio 310 of at least 6:1, the narrowflakes 304 come to rest in a three-dimensional random fiber orientationwithin the reservoir 206. It should be noted that the narrow flakes 304may be uncoupled to adjacent narrow flakes 304 when poured into thereservoir 206. In other words, unlike thermoset applications in whichflakes are tacky at room temperatures, and generally at above-freezingtemperatures, the narrow flakes 304 are loose or individually free tofall into the reservoir 206 at above-freezing temperatures to create thethree-dimensional random fiber orientation that is desired since thenarrow flakes 304 are not bound or otherwise attracted to adjacentnarrow flakes 304.

The routine 700 continues from operation 704 to operation 706, whereheat and pressure are applied to the narrow flakes 304 within thereservoir 206 to push the narrow flakes 304 throughout the componentcavities 204 of the mold 202. Because of the three-dimensional randomfiber orientation of the narrow flakes 304 within the reservoir 206,this random orientation is spread throughout the mold 202, ensuringconsistent strength characteristics throughout the resulting component.At operation 706, the component at least partially cools and solidifiesbefore being removed from the mold 202, and the routine 700 ends.

FIG. 8 shows an illustrative routine 800 corresponding to operation 702of FIG. 7 for transforming the composite fiber tape 102 into narrowflakes 304. An example of this embodiment is shown in FIG. 5 withrespect to utilizing a blending device 502 to fracture the flakes 104into narrow flakes 304. The routine 800 begins at operation 802, wherecomposite fiber tape 102 is cut into flakes 104, or low aspect ratioflakes. At operation 804, the flakes 104 are blended within the blendingdevice 502 to allow the chopping blades 504 to strike the flakes 104,fracturing the flakes 104 between fibers 106 to create the narrow flakes304 having the desirable aspect ratios 310, and the routine 800 ends. Itshould be appreciated that this embodiment is not limited to the use ofa blending device 502. Rather, any equipment configured to strike orotherwise apply a sufficient force to the flakes 104 to fracture theflakes 104 into narrow flakes 304 may be used.

FIG. 9 shows an illustrative alternative routine 900 corresponding tooperation 702 of FIG. 7 for transforming the composite fiber tape 102into narrow flakes 304. An example of this embodiment is shown in FIG. 6with respect to slitting and cutting a composite fiber tape 102 into thenarrow flakes 304 having one or more desired aspect ratios 310. Theroutine 900 begins at operation 902, where composite fiber tape 102 isslit into narrow tape ribbons 602. The narrow tape ribbons 602 may be ofone or more widths corresponding to the desired widths 308 of the narrowflakes 304 being created. At operation 904, the narrow tape ribbons 602are cut into one or more lengths corresponding to the desired lengths306 of the narrow flakes 304 being created, and the routine 900 ends.

Based on the foregoing, it should be appreciated that technologies forcreating a three-dimensional random fiber orientation in a compositecomponent have been presented herein. The subject matter described aboveis provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed aslimiting. Various modifications and changes may be made to the subjectmatter described herein without following the example embodiments andapplications illustrated and described, and without departing from thetrue spirit and scope of the present disclosure, which is set forth inthe following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of creating a three-dimensional randomfiber orientation in a composite component, comprising: transforming aunidirectional thermoplastic tape into a plurality of narrow flakes, amajority of the plurality of narrow flakes having an aspect ratio of atleast 6:1; pouring the plurality of narrow flakes into a reservoir of amold such that an orientation of the plurality of narrow flakes withinthe reservoir comprises a substantially three-dimensional random fiberorientation; heating the plurality of narrow flakes within thereservoir; and compressing the plurality of narrow flakes within thereservoir through the mold; wherein transforming the unidirectionalthermoplastic tape into the plurality of narrow flakes comprises:cutting the unidirectional thermoplastic tape into a plurality offlakes; and fracturing the plurality of flakes along an axis of thefibers to create the plurality of narrow flakes having an aspect ratioof at least 6:1.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein fracturing theplurality of flakes along the axis of the fibers to create the pluralityof narrow flakes comprises: blending the plurality of flakes in ablending device having a plurality of chopping blades until a majorityof the plurality of flakes comprise the aspect ratio of at least 6:1 tocreate the plurality of narrow flakes.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinfracturing the plurality of flakes along the axis of the fibers tocreate the plurality of narrow flakes comprises: blending the pluralityof flakes in a blending device having a plurality of chopping bladesuntil at least 75% of the plurality of flakes comprise the aspect ratioof at least 6:1 to create the plurality of narrow flakes.
 4. The methodof claim 1, wherein cutting the unidirectional thermoplastic tape into aplurality of flakes comprises: cutting the unidirectional thermoplastictape into the plurality of flakes having an aspect ratio of less than2:1.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the aspect ratio comprises 8:1.6. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of narrow flakescomprises narrow flakes of approximately ½ inches in length and 1/16inches in width.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the unidirectionalthermoplastic tape comprises at least one carbon-fiber reinforced resinof PEKK, PEI, PEEK, PPE and PPS.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein: themold reservoir comprises a cavity extending downward from a bottomportion of the mold reservoir, the cavity comprising a first passagewaywith a turn to a second passageway; and said compressing results in atleast a portion of the narrow flakes being pushed through the cavity andinto the first and second passageways.
 9. The method of claim 1, whereinthe plurality of narrow flakes has approximately equivalent dimensionalattributes.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of narrowflakes has a plurality of dimensional attributes.
 11. A method ofcreating a three-dimensional random fiber orientation in a compositecomponent, comprising: transforming a unidirectional thermoplastic tapeinto a plurality of narrow flakes, a majority of the plurality of narrowflakes having an aspect ratio of at least 6:1; pouring the plurality ofnarrow flakes into a reservoir of a mold such that an orientation of theplurality of narrow flakes within the reservoir comprises asubstantially three-dimensional random fiber orientation; heating theplurality of narrow flakes within the reservoir; and compressing theplurality of narrow flakes within the reservoir through the mold,wherein transforming the unidirectional thermoplastic tape into theplurality of narrow flakes comprises: slitting the unidirectionalthermoplastic tape into a plurality of narrow tape ribbons; and cuttingthe plurality of narrow tape ribbons into the plurality of narrow flakeshaving approximately equivalent dimensional attributes.
 12. The methodof claim 11, wherein the aspect ratio comprises 8:1.
 13. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the plurality of narrow flakes comprises narrow flakesof approximately ½ inches in length and 1/16 inches in width.
 14. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the unidirectional thermoplastic tapecomprises at least one carbon-fiber reinforced resin of PEKK, PEI, PEEK,PPE and PPS.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein: the mold reservoircomprises a cavity extending downward from a bottom portion of the moldreservoir, the cavity comprising a first passageway with a turn to asecond passageway; and said compressing results in at least a portion ofthe narrow flakes being pushed through the cavity and into the first andsecond passageways.
 16. A method of creating a three-dimensional randomfiber orientation in a composite component, comprising: transforming aunidirectional thermoplastic tape into a plurality of narrow flakes, amajority of the plurality of narrow flakes having an aspect ratio of atleast 6:1; pouring the plurality of narrow flakes into a reservoir of amold such that an orientation of the plurality of narrow flakes withinthe reservoir comprises a substantially three-dimensional random fiberorientation; heating the plurality of narrow flakes within thereservoir; and compressing the plurality of narrow flakes within thereservoir through the mold, wherein transforming the unidirectionalthermoplastic tape into the plurality of narrow flakes comprises:slitting the unidirectional thermoplastic tape into a plurality ofnarrow tape ribbons; and cutting the plurality of narrow tape ribbonsinto the plurality of narrow flakes having a plurality of dimensionalattributes.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the aspect ratiocomprises 8:1.
 18. The method of claim 16, wherein the plurality ofnarrow flakes comprises narrow flakes of approximately ½ inches inlength and 1/16 inches in width.
 19. The method of claim 16, wherein theunidirectional thermoplastic tape comprises at least one carbon-fiberreinforced resin of PEKK, PEI, PEEK, PPE and PPS.
 20. The method ofclaim 16, wherein: the mold reservoir comprises a cavity extendingdownward from a bottom portion of the mold reservoir, the cavitycomprising a first passageway with a turn to a second passageway; andsaid compressing results in at least a portion of the narrow flakesbeing pushed through the cavity and into the first and secondpassageways.